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Nice people

OAKBROOK TERRACE, (Illinois): Random acts of kindness in this Chicago suburb really could pay off. The village administrator, Jerry Elsner, plans to give away dollars 100 savings bonds to the nicest people he can find. Elsner said he will pick one person each month during his rounds of the village's stores, restaurants and motels. APP

Taiwan president

TAIPEI: Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui has compared China to a "hooligan" and upheld his controversial statehood claim in defiance of Beijing's renewed military threats. "Communist China says it is going to use force if we don't talk with them. "It's hegemony. China is like a hooligan," Lee told a group of business leaders at a banquet in southern Kaohsiung late Friday. AFP

Ph D in black studies

CAMBRIDGE, (Massachusetts): Harvard University is establishing a doctoral programme in Afro-American studies. Harvard faculty voted this week to create the new Ph D programme. At least four other universities offer the advanced degree. APP

Albright

WASHINGTON: The US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Friday insisted that maintaining a policy of engagement with China, despite its record of human rights abuses, was the best way to bring about change. AFP

Violent protests

BAYONNE, (France): French Basque militants clashed with police here late Friday during a demonstration in support of a jailed separatist activist who is on hunger strike. French anti-riot police fired tear gas and had petrol bombs thrown at them. Militants also attacked an undercover police agent during the violent demonstration. AFP

Antiquities

OKLAHOMA CITY: An antique dealer pleaded guilty in US court to taking part in the smuggling of Greek, Roman and other ancient artifacts from Turkey to the United States. "We can't put a value on the artifacts," said William Wallrapp, agent in charge for the Customs Service in Oklahoma City. "They are, in fact, priceless. APP

Ecuador general

QUITO, (Ecuador): President Gustavo Noboa on Friday decorated the general who toppled the former chief executive during a coup last month. Former armed forces chief Gen Carlos Mendoza received the medal of "professional excellence". APP

Lawsuit filed

SANTIAGO: A lawsuit was filed against Cuban President Fidel Castro here on Friday, charging him with having aided a Chilean guerrilla group opposed to Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship of 1973-1990. Lawyers for the prosecution said the case was filed on behalf of Carlos Rivera Nieto, whose son was killed in an attack by leftist guerrillas in this country, while he was working as bodyguard to one of Nieto's lawyer, Monica Madariaga, said the lawsuit seeks Castro's arrest and arraignment in Chile on the grounds that he aided subversive groups and helped them smuggling of weapons into Chile. AFP

Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will visit Indonesia next month for talks with on President Abudurrahman Wahid, the national news agency reported on Saturday. Mahathir will be accompanied by officials from the government and private sector during the two-day visit, beginning March 9, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency. APP

Salmon experiment

BLENHEIM, (New Zealand): The salmon farming company accused of breeding mutant Chinook Salmon has killed all its genetically engineered fish and buried their remains. New Zealand King Salmon Co. Ltd. "suspended" its research now that it had successfully introduced the trait down three generations, chief executive Paul Steere said on Friday. APP

Appeal for calm

ALBANY, (New York): Amadou Diallo's parents sat quietly through the verdict, then took their controlled sadness outside the courthouse to appeal for peace after four New York City police officers were acquitted of murder in their son's killing. "I ask for your calm and prayers," the mother, Kadiatou Diallo, told reporters. "As we go on for the quest of justice life, equality Ñ I thank you all". APP

Philippine volcano

LEGASPI, (Philippines): Mayon volcano shook with a second eruption in three days in the eastern Philippines early Saturday, rousing residents of nearby towns as experts warned of a major blast. Church bells tolled to issue warnings shortly after midnight Friday as the cone-shaped mountain's crater glowed crimson and a river of red-hot lava flowed down the slope in a spectacle visible several miles (kilometers) aways. AFP

Wounds of War

GUATEMALA: One year ago, Guatemala's truth commission issued its report on the 36-year civil war. It told a horrific tale of death and destruction that haunts Guatemala's past and besieges its present. It also described a new beginning for what could be its future. Now, many in Guatemala say, all that remains are its horror stories. Thousands of people marched through the capital on Friday to accuse the government of ignoring the report and to celebrate an unofficial "National Victims Day". APP